Gardening

Science Saturdays include the following:

• Plant Identification Clinic – bring that mysterious plant that’s growing in your backyard and our botanists will tell you what it is.
• Demonstrations of BRIT’s digital herbarium.
• BRIT’s Plant Preservation Studio – See how scientists create herbarium specimens.
• BRIT Library reading room and Burk Children’s Library – visit two of the most renowned botanical libraries in the Southwest.
• BRIT Press publications will be on display and available for purchase.
• Saturday guided tours of the Herbarium and Library will be provided at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Science Saturdays are held the first weekend of every month and feature numerous events hosted by BRIT’s botanists. Our botanists are on hand to answer questions and to identify those mysterious plants that grow in the backyards of Tarrant and Dallas counties that prompt homeowners to ask, “What the heck is this?”  

Science Saturdays include the following:

• Plant Identification Clinic – bring that mysterious plant that’s growing in your backyard and our botanists will tell you what it is.
• Demonstrations of BRIT’s digital herbarium.
• BRIT’s Plant Preservation Studio – See how scientists create herbarium specimens.
• BRIT Library reading room and Burk Children’s Library – visit two of the most renowned botanical libraries in the Southwest.
• BRIT Press publications will be on display and available for purchase.
• Saturday guided tours of the Herbarium and Library will be provided at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

BRIT will post a calendar of events on its website throughout the season. 

2012 Fall Master Composter Class
6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Thursday, October 11
6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Friday, October 12
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, October 13

Training Locations (over three days):
Development Center (City Hall),
City Landfill, and Kirby Creek Nature Center

Pre-registration is required. Deadline is October 1.
$25 registration fee for Grand Prairie residents.
$40 registration fee for non-residents.

Participants will receive:
• Excellent training featuring nationally known instructor Larry Wilhelm
• Composting Book
• Compost Thermometer
• T-shirt and lunch on Saturday (October 13)

Class Registration (attendance at all three sessions highly recommended):
• Please call 972-237-8061 or email: composting@gptx.org
• Online registration available at www.gptx.org/composting

Backyard composting doesn’t have to be just a mixture of leaves and grass. These browns and greens are the perfect source for carbon and nitrogen to make a “hot” pile, but there are other alternative sources for nitrogen, which will still create a hot pile. Most experienced composters have used and/or use a variety of manures to produce a rich, compost perfect for gardening. This class will examine the types of manures that should and should not be used in composting, as well as discuss the benefits of using worms in the composting process to produce vermi-compost.

*Part of Irving’s Urban Farming Lecture Series

Saturday, Sept. 1
9 to 11:30 a.m.
Max G. Greiner Environment Center
Southeast corner of Conflans and Gilbert roads

Speakers: Fran Witte, City of Irving

To register online click here. 

For more information, call the Office of Environmental Stewardship at (972) 742-2296.

These single-day camps run from 9:00AM-3:00PM. For children ages 5 to 9 years old.

Campers bring a sack lunch; a daily snack is provided. 

Diggin’ into Decomposers: Discover local decomposers, build a wormery, and race snails! July 12^th and 27^th.

Junior Geologist: See fossils and rocks from all over the country and discover some for yourself!  July 17^th.

Buggin’ Around: Catch bugs, build insect traps, and get up close and personal with a real live tarantula! July 26^th.

Wings for a Day: Go bird watching, make feeders and meet a real live hawk! July 31^st.

Grand Prairie Farmers Market will feature a "Make it and Take it Rain Barrel Class" on Saturday, Sept. 1, in addition to its weekly supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, coffee, tea, tamales, jellies and relishes, grass-fed meats, homemade soaps, candles and more.

The Rain Barrel Class, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m., costs $35 for Grand Prairie residents and $50 for non-residents, and pre-registration is required. Send a check or money order payable to the city of Grand Prairie to: Selena Jackson, P.O. Box 534045, Grand Prairie, TX 75053. For more information about the class, call 972-237-8377 or email sjackson@gptx.org. 

The Grand Prairie Farmers Market is open March 31, 2012 through December on Saturdays 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Market Square, 120 W. Main St., in downtown Grand Prairie. Check out the 2012 Farmers Market Calendar on our website for a listing of special events including cooking demonstrations and festivals.

“Native & Adapted Plants” will be presented from 10 a.m. until noon, September 1, in Lonestar Room A & B at the Tarrant County Plaza Building, 200 Taylor St., Ft. Worth. Registration is $15. Advance reservations are preferred, but not required. 

To register or for more information, contact Billie Hammack at 817-884-1296 or blhammack@ag.tamu.edu.

http://tcweb.tarrantcounty.com/ehealth/lib/ehealth/2012_Seminars2.pdf

How to Care For Your Trees During a Drought
Matt Grubisich will cover the effects this past summer had on our trees, how you can
determine if your trees have been affected, what are the long-term consequence of the drought,
and how to properly water your trees -- both newly planted trees and established trees.
Matt Grubisich has a B.S in Urban Forestry and Forest Management from Iowa State
University and has been working in the Urban Forestry field for over 12 years in the DFW area.
Matt spent 8 years with the Texas Forest Service as the Regional Urban Forester for the Dallas
area. Following that, he spent 2 years as a private consulting arborist/urban forester specializing
in Oak Wilt and Urban Tree Canopy Assessments and management plans. He is now with the
Texas Trees Foundation as their Director of Urban Forestry, where he oversees the production of
5,000 trees in the TTF nursery and is in charge of project development and project
implementation for the planting of over 25,000 trees a year.

Steve Woodward, avid birder and owner of Wild Bird Center, will teach you how to attract hummingbirds with plants and feeders to your yards and gardens. Also learn about common Texas hummingbirds and their habits during this adult workshop at River Legacy Living Science Center.

Best suited for ages 10 and up. Space is limited, RSVP to 817.860.6752.

Event is FREE, donations accepted

Drip irrigation is 90% efficient, promotes healthier plants, and is usually inexpensive and easy to install. Come and learn about types of drip irrigation and the basics of how to install it at this free class. Registration of 8 people is required in order to hold the class. 

Cost: FREE 

Registration required, to register please visit https://livegreeninplano.obsres.com/Info.aspx?EventID=3

Class meets at the Environmental Education Center, 4116 W, Plano Parkway, Plano 75093 

MON, July 23     7:00pm-8:00pm
MON, August 20     7:00pm-8:00pm